Serin
by bi-boy
Summary: The trials and tribulations of an ordinary mouse, Serin, living in a post-war land. Getting by with his wife and son, despite a haughty upper-class.
1. Chapter 1

The mouse stood under the warm noonday sun, his overtly long war-blade weighing heavily upon his shoulder.  
"I suggest you leave now, Enoch." The mouse said, his voice monotonous and directed at a weasel.  
"I think you should give me your food, mouse." Replied the weasel; his voice was sharp and tight. He had a right to speak such ways though, namely the short-ax in his hand and the five henchmen behind him allowed it.  
"I have a name, Enoch, and you know it." The mouse called back to Enoch, unshouldering his blade, which was as long as his shoulders were tall. He held it out from his body, the tip buried into the ground.  
Sweat was pouring from all creatures' bodies, but it wasn't all just from heat for Enoch. The mouse could do serious damage with that blade. But still, Enoch needed the food the mouse had. Enoch looked behind the mouse at the small rounded door that adorned the bottom of the rock cliff behind the mouse. "I know your name Serin, and I also know you have food, a lot of it. You know I need it."  
Serin's heart was breaking now, Enoch and him had been friends a long time, a long time. Fellow warriors in the Great Revolt, fighting for the freedom of their land and families. Enoch, like Serin, had a family. Enoch had two children, Serin only had one. "Enoch, don't do this, you know I don't have enough to spare. My crops are all but failed, I need the food we have in storage. Don't do this, look at the example your setting for your boys, is this what we fought for all those years ago?" Enoch and Serin both looked back to two of the weasels, they were younger, their muscular arms crossed with a stout stance, trying to seem intimidating but a look of slight confusion and deep thought on their face. "Is this what you've been teaching your boys all these years?"  
Enoch's face lost all expression for a moment, then tears began forming in his eyes as he dropped his ax and covered his face and bellowed out to Serin, "N-no! It's not...! What am I doing Serin, my friend…"  
Serin left his sword impaled in the ground and walked up to his friend, taking Enoch's paws from his face, Serin held them in his own, "I cannot give you food, but I can give you help. Jerro and I can help you."  
Warm tears streaking down his face, Enoch smiled and gave Serin's paws an affectionate squeeze, "Thank you my friend, what was I about to do..?"  
Smiling lightly and shaking his head, Serin simply replied, "All is forgiven."

~

"That look good?" whispered Serin, crouching low on a large hill under the cover of thorny bushes.  
"Looks good to me." Replied Enoch, his voice just as quiet.  
"Who are they again?" piped up a younger mouse, he looked a lot like Serin, like a mini-Serin.  
"They as in who we're about to raid?" asked Enoch, slightly turning his head but still eyeing the large structure that was about fifty yards from them. It was as said, large, made of wood and mud and clay. Inside was housed food, a lot of food. It belonged to the Wrengal family. A large group of hedgehogs that refused to fight in the Great Revolt. They didn't support either side, neither the Revoters or the Clansou. So they remained relatively unscathed from the effects of the Revolt. Their foodstuffs were great, nearly 100 creatures all related someway or another lived together in a sort of colony and grew all their food together, and never shared. They felt they were too good for other creatures, they were the aristocrats of the land.  
"Yeah, I want to know who we're stealing-"  
"Don't call it stealing my boy," said Serin, cutting into Jerro's sentence and giving him a playful smile and wink, "it's more…forced borrowing."  
"We going to do this today folks?" asked Enoch, smiling and a little anxious.  
Serin smiled back and replied, "Ready as rain. Jerro, you wait here and watch, keep a paw on your blade too."  
"I will father."  
"Good, let's be off then my friend." Smiled Serin, stalking off carefully through the thorny weed, making not a sound. Enoch followed shortly.  
The fifty yards to the storehouse was nothing but open plains, however those two were going to steal the food was beyond Jerro. Until he realized, it was one of his father's plans. The two creatures reached the bottom of the hill, emerged from the bush, gave each other a smile than let out a loud shriek as they both charged the compound. Jerro couldn't help but smile a little and shake his head, a paw over his forehead and face bent down a little, definitely one of his father's plans. A few guards heard the scream and ran to engage the warriors, but were decimated easily, Enoch and Serin both knew how to fight and could just as easily wound someone as kill them. The real skill, Serin would tell Jerro, is not killing them but making them wish they were dead. Exhausted from the sprint, Enoch and Serin took a moment, leaning with their backs to catch their breaths, then Enoch began his work of hacking away at the wood and mud wall. It was short work for his ax and soon grains and seed of all kind began pouring from the wall.  
The duo put out their haversacks and let them fill up, then placed another under. Serin couldn't help but smile and shout out, "Jackpot!!!" as sack after filled with vittles. Soon all of their sacks were filled, and they did their best to shoulder them all and as they waddled off smiling and laughing at their catch Serin asked with a roguish smile, looking back at the grain continuing to fall from the wall, "Shouldn't we do something about that?"  
"Why?" replied Enoch, smiling just as roguish.  
"Good enough answer for me." Commented Serin, content. "Wait…"  
"What is-"  
"Shh! I think I hear some..thing……get down!" shouted Serin as he dropped his sacks and tackled Enoch to the ground just as arrows zipped over their heads.  
"What do we have here? Some scummy thieves trying to steal our grain?"  
Enoch and Serin stood up, they were encircled by about twenty hedgehogs, each brandishing a club of some sort. "Scummy thieves my hide, you're the greedy ones." Said Enoch, brushing the dust off his clothes and picking up his large hand ax.  
"If I were you I'd shut your mouth, weasel, now toss us those sacks and just maybe I'll let you live."  
Serin recognized this one, he was second generation, a child of the original Clansou's that refused to take action. "I suggest you let us leave with these sacks and maybe we'll let YOU live." Serin called to the main hedgehog.  
"Oh just kill them." With a wave of the paw the hedgehog said, turning his back and walking away.  
Slowly, the small army of hogs inched in towards the duo, closing the circle on them.  
Jerro was watching it all, but smiling. He was trying to figure out if his father and Enoch were going to use fatal force or not.  
Enoch leaned over slightly, whispering, "Fatal force or not?"  
Serin pondered this in his mind, taking no great amount of time, "Mmm….non-fatal, let's show these guys just how incredibly rough we are."  
Enoch smiled at this as the two took up fighting stances and waited for the creatures to enter striking range…

~

"Oh ow!" cried out Serin as Enoch lifted the side of his tunic.  
"Whoa ho! That guy scuffed off some of your fur and skin!" called out Enoch, smiling with amusement.  
"Glad to know it amuses you, ah EE!"  
"Hold still, I'll patch it up good 'n' proper." Said Enoch a little more serious, but not by much with a smile still plastered to his face.  
The trio of creatures were far from the compound now, each one carrying at least one sack filled with grain and seed. They were resting beside a small creek, large tree limbs over their heads shadowing them, "Yeah, can't believe I even let him graze me though with that club of his. He shouldn't of even touched-AH!"  
Enoch was slapping the large bandage placed on Serin's waist and laughing, "Well, it's not your fault you backpedaled into a haversack and fell over onto your butt! Oh wait, it is!"  
Jerro and Enoch kept the laughing fresh as Serin sat up, "Oh shut up the lot of you." He then flung large chunks of mud at the two of them, smiling.  
Being too much of a warrior to be hit, Enoch ducked but Jerro took the mud ball straight up in the face.  
SPLAT! The mud flew all over; dotting everyone's clothes mainly Jerro's.  
"Oh your gonna get it old man." Said Jerro as he wiped the mud from his face, a sinister grin on his face.  
"Bring it young 'n." Serin grinned back, reading himself for whatever his son was about to try…

~

"Oh what were you two doing??" cried out Kathryn as she watched her husband and son slump through the arched doorway, dripping wet with water and mud. Silly smiles glued to their lips.  
Serin smiled to his wife and wrapped an arm 'round his son, then took him in a headlock as he said, "Just your boy and me got into a little scuffle, nothing to worry 'bout ma'am."  
Jerro latched onto his father's arm then slipped from his hold and gave him a push from behind, "Yeah, the old man here was being an outright dibbun."  
"Oh I'm the dibbun!?" Serin cried out, smiling open mouthed as he whirled around and crossed his arms, his voice very amused.  
"Your both dibbuns now stop before you muddy the whole place up!" Kathryn scolded the two, brandishing her kitchen knife like a weapon. The two then hung their heads again, still smiling as they slunk to the back of the cave to wash up. Though as soon as they rounded the corner, she could hear rushing pawsteps then a crash of glass. She simply shook her head with a small smile and continued cutting vegetables.

***


	2. Chapter 2

  
He swayed slightly in the breeze, the ropes cutting into his skin. Rolan hung from a tree by his wrists, ropes tied cruelly tight round his wrists. Hanging by his wrists from the branch of a tree had worn him out, possibly because he'd been hanging for nearly two straight days. Blood had soaked the parts of the rope around his wrists and his trousers were filthy with dirt and his waste. Head hung and eyes closed, eyes, encrusted with tears of pain and hate.  
CRACK!  
The whip fell quick across his back, snapping him back into consciousness as he cried out in pain and arched his back. "Tell me what you did again?" said the hedgehog. He was older and fatter than the others, wearing more jewelry and elaborate clothing. His voice carried haughtiness, and his actions giggles of delight from the younger hogmaids.  
Trying to lift his head, Rolan swallowed and replied with a weak voice, "I-I spilt tea on the Lady Jiz's gown…"  
A young hogmaid ran up from the small crowd assembled to watch and squeaked to the older hedgehog, "I don't think he's sorry daddy, whip him more."  
The older hog smiled softly and stroked her spikes and soothed, "Don't worry darlin, I'll make the dirty squirrel pay for ruinin' yore dress." The little maid smiled with delight and went back to her mother as her father's face became grim and he raised his arm…

~

Autumn leaves, yellow and brown, fell slowly to the ground as Serin and Enoch took a picnic on the White Cliffs. The cliffs which Serin and his family resided in were composed of pure white marble and limestone, it was an incredible sight at sunrise and sunset. A large oak shadowed them against the heavily clouded sky and it's massive limbs shook lightly with the wind. They were eating a light picnic of fruits and breads, with some cheeses. Serin poured his comrade another helping of cool mint tea and remarked lying on his side with pitcher in hand, "Don't the Clansou's have slaves?"  
Enoch nodded in thanks and sat up with his back to the trunk of the tree and his legs stretched out, "I think they just recently lured in some forest orphans, befriended them and all of a sudden did their 'hedgehogs are superior' routine, brainwashed 'em like that and forced 'em into servant-ship."  
"What are you doing tomorrow?' asked Serin, resting on his back watching the clouds roll by through the bare tree branches.  
"Nothing…why?" replied Enoch, turning his head and eyeing Serin, wondering what the odd mouse was plotting.  
Placing a small celery stalk between his teeth to chew, Serin answered him, "Seeing how's your doing nothing tomorrow, and how those Clansou's probably got some slaves or creatures working for 'em without consent…"  
Serin's voice trailed on and a smile spread across Enoch's face, "I see what're your plannin', what time should we strike?"  
Serin sat up, spit the celery out and grinned, "Late, I was thinking sometime round midnight, while they're all sleepin'."  
"I agree, sleep all day, kill all night."  
Smiling and nodding, Serin had no problem with this notion. Ignorant creatures that had no idea why they were doing what they were doing, like at the compound, was one thing. When one creature rules over another, that is completely different.

~

Night masked the land in complete darkness, there was naught but a crescent moon out giving weak light. But weak light, was enough light for Enoch and Serin. The two creatures stalked slowly and silently through a large overgrowth of bush and weeds as they carefully crept up to a group of small shacks. Three large canyon walls encompassed the Clansou's settlement making attack a troublesome affair, but the same was with escape. Rather than dealing with the meddlesome sentries and having to kill more creatures then necessary, Enoch and Serin had decided to scale down the side of the west cliff wall. It was on the south side that the large wooden perimeter fence ran. And it was on the west side of the settlement where the Clansou's kept their servants in poorly constructed huts and shacks, if they could be called that. Little more than flimsy and thin sheets of bark held together with sap, the shacks gave nothing but superficial protection from the elements. Breaking free from the bushes, the pair of trained killers looked around, allowing their eyes time to adjust. Five shacks, surrounded by a perimeter wall with guard posts. Serin strained his eyes as he peered into the guard posts and whispered to Enoch, "Three guard posts…six guards…" a smile then slowly formed on his lips, "…all asleep."  
Enoch squatted down into the soft earth and continued catching his breath as quiet as possible, he wasn't used to climbing as much as Serin was, he gasped out in response, "G-good, that should make o-our job easier…"  
No light reflected from either creature's weapons thanks to a mixture of black ash and oil Enoch's wife had made for them before they left. Males weren't the only ones who helped in the Great Revolt. Serin squatted next to his friend, his blade resting easily on his shoulder and the handle butt inched into the ground. A filmy black substance rubbed off onto his shoulder, but he didn't mind. "You 'bout ready to go?" asked Serin, keeping his voice near silent.  
"Ready as ever." Replied Enoch, slinging his ax off his belt and gripping tightly to its leather wound handle of horn.  
Words from this point no longer needed to be spoken. Both of them knew each other's thought when they were in a situation like this and when one moved the other followed simultaneously with no delay.  
  
Nolan still hanged from the dead tree limb, like a piece of meat. Head hung down, and body stiff with pain and tire, Nolan was in terrible condition. The strong young squirrel was now emaciated from being starved three days straight, after already being malnourished. The gentle breeze of nature acted as his cushion, and the quiet warm night and stars were his blanket. Torn to shreds and soaked in dried blood, his tunic was nothing more than rags being loosely held to his thin and naked body.  
"Oh my lord, what have they done to him…?" whispered Serin to Enoch with barely any breath as he looked upon the squirrel's limp form hanging from a tree in the orchard with horror held hazel eyes, fixed on the injuries that had been inflicted.  
"I don't know, c'mon, we have to get 'em down." Replied Enoch, standing from his crouch quietly, and then stealthily with Serin stalked up toward the tree until they were only a few paces from the squirrel whose feet only were a few spaces from the ground. Enoch moved to behind the squirrel and positioned himself to catch him, "Okay now, cut the rope."  
Instantly, Serin in a blur of motion slashed at the rope with his massive blade in an arc and cut the rope.  
Enoch gently caught Nolan in his strong beefy arms and then with care undid the rope tied to his wrists. The ropes around the squirrels wrists, to Enoch's horror, where saturated with blood. Enoch then softly patted the haggard creature on the cheek with his palm, "'Ello, 'ello there? Wake up mate, we're gettin outta here."  
"Mmm..." hummed the creature as he slowly stirred, then felt himself being held and then his eyes immediately shot open as he realized he was about to be put to death, and also realizing that it wouldn't matter, started yelling out while thrashing about, "No! No! You're not going to kill me!"  
Serin smartly conked the squirrel over the head with his blade handle after Enoch had bravely fought off the weakened squirrels' feeble attack.  
The two warriors were about to smile in humor but they heard a-  
SNAP!  
It was merely a twig, but the sound reverberated throughout the twos' ears. Soon, more sounds flooded their sensitive ears and they started counting up the numbers.  
Three, no, soon five. The numbers steadily increased. Ten, then fifteen. All moving closer, moving slowly toward their position. Serin, voice raked with urgency whispered out, "Time to fly friend..."  
"I roger your wilco." Replied Enoch as he picked up the squirrel in his arms and followed after Serin, back the way they came.


	3. Chapter 3

Warm firelight and heat filled the small room of Serin's cliff side home. It was a small, homely room. Neatly trimmed moss covering were lain all about the floor for comfort of walking, the fireplace set itself right across from the entry door in the wall. Rolan lay on a thick rush mat that was pushed into a corner near the fire so as to warm its patron.  
"How's he doing?" whispered Enoch to Kathryn who stood beside him in the doorway.  
Eyes downcast at her paws as she rubbed them down with scrutiny with a moist rag, she replied in the same quiet tone, "A bit punished and weakened from lack of proper victuals, but otherwise, not in incredibly horrible condition. I've seen worse."  
"Haven't we all." Remarked Enoch as he let his elbow down from leaning against the doorframe and walked towards Rolan.  
Kathryn saw Enoch start moving closer, obviously to talk to the squirrel, immediately she grabbed him sternly by the shoulder. "No, not yet. He's still too weak. He needs more rest."  
Stopping in his tracks, Enoch nodded, turned, and exited just as Serin entered.  
Enoch patted Serin's shoulder while leaving to get something to eat. "What kind of wounds did he have?" asked Serin, in an acknowledged whisper.  
"Horrible ones. Obviously for torture and maiming, not meant to kill, just cause pain. Many scars. His wrists were lacerated badly, the skin broken due to rope burn. Even more on his back, probably from being whipped. And it looked like he'd endured a lot of beating before all that."  
"How's he resting?"  
"Well."  
"Good."  
"Serin?" started Kathryn, as she turned to face her husband, her features no more concerned with the cold reality of war but instead on things closer to home, "do you think they'll come after him? After us because of what you and Enoch did?"  
Serin was watching the slumbering squirrel, listening to his wife, "Does it matter?" asked Serin, as he turned and took her paws in his, "we must uphold the morals and honor we've lived all our lives and taught to Jerro. Anything less-"  
"Could get us killed Serin." Finished Kathryn, "we need to start thinking not like vigilantes who are freeing slaves and heroically stealing grain. Those days are gone. The Order's gone. Now it's those Clansou's, and now there are fewer to hold the honor that we've held to. We can't fight them Serin."  
"Then what do we do Kat, tell me what we do?" asked Serin, a little agitated.  
"I don't know..."


End file.
